Six Years Later

Angela looked up at the tall buildings and the tall cadets that surrounded her. She'd stopped growing about a year ago, but she was hoping for another inch or two so that she could fit in a little better with the taller humans. She sighed and her shoulders slumped, she was kidding herself if she thought a fourteen-year-old cadet could blend in with people who were about a decade older with eons more experience. Angela hiked her bag higher on her shoulder and pulled out her schematic of the campus to find the engineering building. It had been worth all of the entrance exams and paperwork to get in early, the next time she saw Spock she would be a cadet he could be proud of. It didn't take long to get a hang of the building pattern and find her lecture hall.

The hall was sporadically filled, she found a seat in the fourth row towards the middle and pulled out her pad. The syllabus had been posted, but she wanted to go over it one more time in case she thought of any last minute questions. The Vulcan education system was ahead of humans in many ways, if for no other reason than the discipline taught to all Vulcans from an extremely young age. When she graduated from her general education field it held the equivalency to a two year degree from most Universities.

"Hey," a gruff voice interrupted her thoughts. Angela looked up and was met with a slight sneer on a cadet's face. "Startfleet Prep is down the street little girl."

"Yeah, there's no preschool division here," his friend grinned. "You lost? How old are you?"

Angela ducked her head and saw others looking at her, she already stuck out and these two were just making it worse. She just wanted to blend in with the other students and let her work speak for her as Amanda always taught her. It had earned her the begrudging respect of a few of her peers back on Vulcan. "This lecture hall is listed as the opening lecture for Into to Engineering and I'm old enough to have passed the entrance exams."

"What the frig are you dong in the Fleet, they can't be letting in teen girls now," the first one sat down next to her and snatched her pad.

"Hey," a female voice cut in. The three looked up to see a long pair of green legs that led to a full figure and beautiful face. "Why don't you two knuckle draggers go find someone of the same intelligence level to pick on? You're out-classed here and this young female is clearly to classy to show you."

"Hey, we were just asking some questions," the second one said, his eyes raking over her form.

"You sounded so mature," she replied, her red curls bouncing as she reached around to get the pad away from the older human. "Now go find your seats, this one's mine." She gripped the one in the chair and levered him out.

"You whore," the second one spat out.

"Oh please, at least come up with something original," the green girl groaned, lowering herself into the chair and pulling out her supplies. "Now stop causing a fuss or everyone here will remember your names for the wrong reasons. You're already causing quite a stir." Many people were already glancing over at the group and several took note of the two cadets. "Run along now." They grumbled something under their breath and walked up the stairs. "Sorry if I interrupted your plans of revenge, I can't stand those types."

"I'm just not used to them doing anything about it," Angela replied, "Most didn't see the point in antagonizing me when their focus was needed elsewhere. Thank you for getting rid of them."

"No problem," she replied, "I'm Gaila, freshman for Computer Engineering and Technicians."

"Angela, I'm a first year too," Angela introduced. ""I'm gong to focus on Theoretical Physics and Mechanical Engineering."

"Nice to meet you," Gaila smiled. The professor walked in and took his place at the podium. "Do you have a class next cycle?" Angela shook her head. "Well, lets grab some lunch after this."

"Sure." Angela took a few notes on the syllabus and second guessed her decision to take the entry level course. The Vulcans tailored their learning structure to Vulcans, as such it was accelerated and exceedingly focused. Starfleet had to accommodate dozens of species and learning styles into their curriculum, including those who were still learning standard even if their focus knowledge was above par. Her plan was to use the entry level course to adjust her learning style to fit the different class structure, but she didn't want to get bored. When the lecture was over students poured out of the lecture hall to go their separate ways. "Hey Gaila, mind if I ask you a question."

"Go ahead." The green woman replied, winking at a cute senior as they passed.

"Did you think that class was a little remedial? I mean, I spend the last few years in VA focusing on…"

"Wait, VA," Gaila asked, stopping the two on their way to the mess, "As in, the Vulcan Academy? You studied at the Vulcan Academy?"

"Yeah," Angela replied, shifting her bag on her shoulder. "I was raised there, a family on Vulcan took me in."

"Girl, you got to be on Vulcan, I have to introduce you to my roommate, she is going to loose her cool," Gail chattered, "Also, what are you doing in the introduction class, shouldn't you be off starting your own thesis or something? If you make an appointment with your councilor I bet they can still change around your schedule. Who do you have?"

Angela laughed, as she answered, Gaila had already given her a solution to her problem and passed over the fact she was not a Vulcan though she had been raised there. "Well, I'm not even sure, I still haven't gone through my whole in box - I had over a hundred messages today from different departments."

"Well, once you figure it out I'd send them an email for a meeting, they'll get you on the right path," Gaila said, "I started meeting with them over the summer before I knew what I wanted to work in, they got me on Computer Engineering with a track towards the sciences." They arrived and Gaila waved at a young woman with dark skin and a pony tail high on her head. "Uhura, over here." The young women walked over and smiled.

"Gaila, what's up?" She asked.

"Uhura, meet Angela, Angela, Uhura," Gaila introduced. "Guess which person in my Intro to Engineering got to study at the Vulcan Academy?"

"No way, how did you swing that?" Uhura asked Angela.

"I was raised on Vulcan, I'm a political refugee and I was taken in by a Vulcan family when I was younger," Angela explained.

"Crazy smart," Gaila offered, ushering the two into the food line. "Anyway…what the heck is that? Uhura, what is that? I'm not sure it's food."

"It's food, just not sure who for," Uhura said, "Grab the pizza, it's fresh from the oven." The girls each grabbed a few slices and a drink each before moving to the crowded tables. "So I don't mean to pry, as you mentioned you're a refugee, but I've never run into your species."

"I'm Twiniian," Angela explained. " butI was young when they found me so I don't remember all that much."

"I'm a linguistics major with a track towards communication, that's why I'm so interested," Uhura said, "I'm still having trouble with a dialect of Vulcan and it's hard to find someone to practice with."

"I had enough trouble with Andorian and my whole adoptive family speaks it," Angela commented.

"What's it like on Vulcan?" Uhura asked.

"Hot, all the time," Angela replied, "And until you get used to the thin atmosphere it feels like you're breathing a lung short."

"Going back to classes; you two are going to need to help me study both, it's a completely different phonology than what I'm used to." Gaila cut in. "I'm trying to knock out all my requirements before the really hard courses kick in."

"I'll help you," Uhura said. "Angela, interested?"

"Yes," the girl replied. "Thank you. Are there any courses you'll need help with."

"I'll probably be cashing in that favor next semester," Uhura replied, "I want to take a into course for technicians for some advanced troubleshooting methods, I'll need help once that starts up."

"Until then," Gaila said, washing down her pizza with a carbonated drink, "We're going to find time for the two of us to study. I have a feeling we have some of the same intro courses for Sciences and Mechanical Engineering tracks."

"Sounds like fun," Angela said, "Set your displays on the table, I'll sync our contact information. Then I hate to cut this short, but I have to get 3/4ths of the way across campus by the next cycle for my physical training qualifiers."

"Eugh," Gaila and Uhura both said at the same time.

"I hated those, I don't see why we have to pass a swim test," Gaila elaborated. "Which one do you have?"

"Self defense," Angela elaborated. "I know I'm going to end up needing some more instruction though so I'm not to worried about it."

"Almost no one tests out," Uhura said.

"Either way I want to make sure I'm warmed up," Angela said, throwing her display back into her bag. "Gaila, message me about free time, I looked ahead on the syllabus and if I end up staying in Intro to Engineering I want to start work on the group project sooner rather than later."

"Will do," Gaila replied with a wave, then Angela was gone, walking across campus at a more leisurely pace than normal, she didn't want to upset her stomach right before a fighting match. When she arrived at the gym she was dismayed to see the students from earlier on the warm up equipment. She hitched her bag higher on her back and quickly walked to the women's dressing rooms. All she had to do was keep calm and remember the past four years of training Amanda had insisted on after the events of her Guardianship. Her training instructor had been a practitioner of the martial arts for a standard century, he had studied and mastered dozens of styles from different worlds across the galaxy and was responsible for training the security forces on Vulcan. As Angela pulled on her physical training gear she remembered his teachings: her appearance would be judged so use it against them, surprise is your first weapon, agility is more valuable than strength when fighting larger opponents, and most fist fights light only seconds so never stop attacking until you are dead. They had been harsh lessons, but necessary, and Angela already knew some illogic brutalities of the world.

Thankfully there were a few female cadets in this cycle of physical testing so she would not be alone, though she saw the same men point her out to others in their group. Angela did her best to ignore them as she stretched and warmed up her muscles for the coming work out. "Good afternoon," the Lieutenant in charge of the class stated, "I've reviewed all of your files and assigned each of you a smaller group based on skill level to get started with. Please pick up a biomoniter and input your student ID to receive your assignments." Everyone grabbed a wrist strap, Angela plugged in her information and reported to group three when the Ensign and Cadet Aid called out group assignments.

"Hello, I am Ensign Rédaer," the Talarian greeted, covered from his neck down per custom. "Has everyone warmed up?" Everyone replied in the positive. "Good, right now we're going to pair off, Cadet Utvitch and I will go between the pairs and we might mix you up a bit. Are there any questions?"

"Sir," one female Cardassian asked. "Is this is a full contact or light contact match?"

"Light contact for now, we'll move to full contact later," he elaborated. "Count off and begin on the bell, we'll switch partners every bell." Angela saw only one of the men from that morning in her group, but thankfully another male was assigned to her for the first match. He was Terran and a bit wiry, though aggressive. He began with a series of punches to test Angela's speed and followed with a few more fast kicks aimed for the body. Angela dodged the attacks and blocked the last one, lightly tapping her hand against the back of his knee instead of a full contact blow. At the ninety second bell he nodded his head in respect and she was faced with the large female from earlier.

The groups shuffled around a lot in the first four rounds, some were bumped up to group two and others were sent for more training. Angela stayed right where she was. It was almost time for her to face the man from earlier when Rédaer called them in. "All right, we need to do at least one full contact round for each of you before we assign final class groups." He pulled out a display and keyed in a few commands. "Cadet Angela, front and center." Angela nearly rolled her eyes, the curse of all people who's name started with the first letter of an alphabet. "If you have not fought with Cadet Angela yet today please step foreword." Two people stepped from the circle, the Terran male scoffed when the Ensign raised his eyebrow.

"I'm sorry sir, but I don't fight teenage girls, it's not fair to them if they're put in the wrong class," he drawled, the comment was not made out of courtesy or politeness and he kept his spot on the edge of the ring.

"Cadet…" he referenced the display. "Penkela, thank you for volunteering. Full contact, no headshots, no groin shots, someone taps out and the round is done. Penkela step foreword and take your starting position." The man rolled his head and swaggered into the ring as the other two fell back. Angela quickly sized him up and tried to remember the fighting styles he'd used on the other cadets. "Go." Penkela laughed a little and took a joking stand before lunging for a widely telegraphed punch, Angela dodged it easily and stepped to his side, but did not attack the soft kidney tissue exposed there. Instead she took a step away, dodging more strikes and kicks as she did. Penkela was getting frustrated after the first few blows hit air.

"Hey, you need to take this seriously," he stated. "You can't just dance around like this is your junior prom."

Despite her training in logic, now seemed the more appropriate time for one of Amanda's Earth sayings: sometimes you have to knock a man down to earn some respect. Without warning Angela threw a combination block/strike at his next punch, targeting the area of nerves between the triceps and bicep muscles, numbing the limb. Using the foreword momentum he had, she hooked one leg behind his and brought it foreword while unleashing a flurry of centre-line shots to his chest. Penkela was forced to the ground and when Angela ceased her final shot to his solar plexus he had been rendered unconscious. Everyone in the circle blinked a few times. "Call for medical," Rédaer ordered. The other man from that morning watched in awe as his friend was quickly diagnosed and moved to a stretcher for transportation. "Cadet Angela, remind me of your previous training."

Angela almost immediately regretted her decision, she had knowingly used excessive force for the sparring match. "I've spent the past four years under daily instruction from Satok of Vulcan. He trained me in a variety of Martial Arts."

"Move up to section two," he keyed in a few commands on his display and her own wrist band reflected the change. "You two, up next." Angela nodded and steadied her breath before walking over to the next group.

"Hello Cadet," the new Ensign greeted, "Take a breather, we'll get you another round in a few minutes." By the end of the day she was assigned one of the higher intermediate hand to hand combat classes and she was sore to the bone. She didn't see Gaila in the mess hall so she grabbed a quick protein based dish and made her way back to her dormitory.

The double beds were still in their default setups, though they were made neither girl had time to really personalize the room beyond their vid collections, music collections, and Jessica's poster of a semi-clad male from a local band. Angela flicked the lights on and saw she had a message waiting from Vulcan, without reading it she selected the return call option.

"Hey Amanda," Angela said, smiling at the woman on the other end of the call. "How are things back home?"

"Usual," Amanda replied, "How was your first day?"

"Good, I think I made a friend," Angela grabbed the mobile unit and flopped on her bed. "And physical training tests are as hard as Spock told me."

"Take your boots off the bed," Amanda interrupted. "The campus may be clean, but its still outside. Tell me about your friend."

Angela rolled onto her back to pull off her shoes, which had never touched the bed but she knew better than to defy the woman who'd been raising her. "Her name is Gaila, she's an Orion in Computer Engineering with a secondary focus in Electrical Engineering, we had Introduction to Engineering together. I think I'm transferring to a more advanced class though. Her roommate's cool too, linguistics major, she offered to help me with Andorian."

"That's good, you still haven't gotten it have you?" Amanda asked, setting up her display and getting everything out for breakfast. "What about your roommate?"

"She's ok, but it's kind of like oil and water," Angela rolled back over and directed the camera towards the other side of the room. "Jessica's kind of a party girl, smart but I'm not sure we're going to be friends."

"As long as the two of you can get along," Amanda counseled, "Does she know what she's allowed to do?"

"She knows, and she's going to tell you if I misbehave."

"Good girl."

"I know, but I don't want to stick out, I just want to fit in with everyone else. I'm tired of everyone thinking I'm oh so different."

"You're unique Angela, that's not going to change, but you can't let that get in the way. Let your abilities speak for themselves, everything else will fall into place. There are good officers there that will not judge you because you decided to enlist early."

"Sarek did," Angela mumbled.

"I heard that."

"He hasn't spoken to me since I told the two of you I was enlisting."

"You are only 14, it's not to late to arrange a shuttle back, you can still put off enlistment for another four years."

"Please, not you too. I got a three page message from Spock explaining the logic of staying in the Vulcan Academy until I was 18 standard years."

"We just want to make sure that you have options, Starfleet is a big commitment for a 14 year old."

"I don't see the point of waiting four more years when I already know what I want to do with my life. And I'm not fourteen."

"Only technically and I still consider you my daughter."

Angela was quiet for a moment, her face a smooth mask perfected on Vulcan. "I don't think Spock is in range for subspace communication, I was going to write him a letter about my first day. I know he made his first friends in Starfleet. Then some of my professors already handed out assignments, I want to work ahead."

"Ok dear, comm me again when you have the chance." Amanda disconnected the call, in the background Angela heard Sarek inquiring about the caller. Angela set her pad down and sighed, Jessica had informed her she probably would not be coming back that evening as there was a beginning semester party. With nothing else to do she pulled on a comfortable pair of flannel pants and a hoodie before sitting down to write that message to Spock. It had been three years since she'd seen him in person, she didn't count sub-space calls as visits, and she missed him terribly since his deployment.

A/N: The fight scene for this is inspired by the fight scenes from Haywire and IP Man. Krav Ma Ga and Wing Chun would both be complementary styles to most Vulcan Martial Arts appropriate for someone of Angela's size/build.